Likely the most telling moment in HBO’s fast-paced, highly engrossing new TV-movie “Game Change” is a moment that’s not in the Halperin/Heilemann book on which it’s based.

On his own, screenwriter Danny Strong discovered (among other things) that senior McCain/Palin campaign advisor Nicolle Wallace could not bring herself to vote for the McCain/Palin ticket on Nov. 4, 2008.

“Game Change” shows us what frightened both Wallace (Sarah Paulson) and her fellow senior McCain/Palin advisor Steve Schmidt (Woody Harrelson) over the two months between Sarah Palin’s September nomination in St. Paul and the election that put Barack Obama in the White House.

What’s jaw-dropping is that “Game Change” demonstrates that Palin is likely much more weak-minded than even her TV interviews with Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric let on.

The world is full of people who are bad at their jobs, but those who are great at their jobs are often those who are engaged by those jobs. Good politicians, I think, tend to be those who are driven by an interest in identifying and solving problems.

The world is also full of 44-year-old adults who spent their lives without a lot of intellectual curiosity about history, geography, political doctrine or world affairs, and the movie demonstrates that Sarah Palin – the former Wasilla mayor only 19 months into her first term as Alaska governor – was one of these, a woman ridiculously ill-equipped to run for national office.

“Game Change” reunites screenwriter Strong (still known to “Buffy” fans as Jonathan Levinson, charter member of The Nerds of Doom) with director Jay Roach (the “Austin Powers” trilogy), who collaborated also on 2008’s Emmy-winning HBO movie “Recount,” which delved into hanging chads and the controversial Bush/Gore contest of the year 2000.

Another surprise is how well all the Republicans not named Sarah Palin come off in “Game Change.” Schmidt and Wallace are portrayed expending considerable talent and effort trying to make lemonade out of an overwhelmed, ungrateful lemon of a running mate. Harrelson, a million miles from Woody Boyd, contributes his best performance in years as the brainy Schmidt.

(In the interest of full disclosure, I am a longtime registered Republican who has yet to vote for any Democrat. I love famed California Republicans Arnold Schwarzenegger and Clint Eastwood and was a big fan of Alan Alda’s Republican character on “The West Wing.”)

Best of all, “Game Change” helps us understand completely how McCain could choose a running-mate as dim and generally awful as Palin. Faced with an overwhelmingly popular Democratic opponent and plummeting poll numbers, McCain realized putting another old white guy on the ticket would have not reversed his fortunes. Tapping the telegenic but unseasoned Palin was a desperate move, and – all things considered – not an unreasonable one.

I like the casting of “Game Change” generally. The Palin daughters look so much like the real thing I wondered for a moment if the movie somehow tricked Bristol and Willow into playing themselves. Austin Pendleton turns up as former Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Lieberman (George W. Bush’s crippling recession had made the GOP so toxic that year that McCain gave serious thought to organizing a party-bridging McCain/Leiberman ticket.) Other recognizable faces playing McCain/Palin staffers include Peter MacNichol (“Ally McBeal”), Ron Livingston (“Office Space”) and Jamey Sheridan (“The Stand”).

… We’re left with the conviction that Sarah Palin would have made a dangerously incompetent president of the United States, and that those closest to her in the campaign, including John McCain, came to realize that. …

... engaging ... As her image falters, and mockery mounts, Ms. Palin’s inflated ego takes a toll. She turns sullen and almost catatonic, refusing to prepare for her Katie Couric interview, and then blames staff members when that ends in disaster. … mostly it chronicles the advisers’ consternation over what they missed in the vetting process: As Nicolle Wallace (Sarah Paulson), a former Bush aide who was a senior Palin adviser, puts it, “She didn’t know why North and South Korea were different countries.” …

... Even when Palin turns petty or paranoid, the overarching image is of a sleek and shiny big fish from a very small pond suddenly transported to the wide and densely populated ocean, unable to reconcile her self-image with what the campaign, and eventually the nation, is seeing. ... either a very sad film, or a very, very scary one. …

... jaw-dropping … a thoroughly engrossing film made all the more compelling by Ms. Moore's performance. … the movie depicts Sen. McCain quite sympathetically. And his advisers, although they make some huge mistakes -- most notably in failing to fully vet Palin before recommending her for the Veep slot -- also come across as devoted patriots who grow terrified of the Pandora's box they may have opened with Palin's nomination. …

… Directed by Jay Roach ("Recount"), "Game Change" is graced by three extraordinary performances in the leading roles, beginning with Moore's portrayal of Palin, which is both complex and entirely credible. Yes, the hair, makeup and costumes contribute mightily to transforming Moore, but the nuance she brings to the performance is simply astounding. … Harrelson has rarely done work as good as his performance as Steve Schmidt, the smartest guy in the room, but one whose zealous determination and single-minded focus on gamesmanship blinds him to political reality until it's too late. …

... While Moore's performance is riveting, the most insightful aspects of the tale are the insider reactions. The mounting concerns about the veep choice are illustrated by Woody Harrelson as Steve Schmidt, McCain's senior campaign strategist, and Sarah Paulson as Nicolle Wallace, a senior adviser for the campaign. After the initial burst of enthusiasm for this charismatic speechmaker and go-getter mom, these team members demonstrate the campaign's dawning awareness of the candidate's lack of substance. Not only are the speechwriters and campaign consultants shocked at Palin's lack of knowledge about international affairs, they are stunned by her declaration that her nomination is "God's plan."...

... There is nothing I can say about “Game Change” — good, bad or indifferent — that won’t be taken the wrong way by somebody. Nevertheless, it’s a good movie. (Wince, duck.) It’s a lot better than the network’s numbingly rote “Too Big to Fail” last year and almost as good as the memorably gripping “Recount,” the 2008 HBO movie about the forever-disputed outcome of the 2000 election. …

... Academy Award-nominee Moore looks smart in her wardrobe and makeup, but she nearly chokes on that Wasilla twang. Anyone who suffered through the BU grad’s attempts at playing a Boston native during her 2010 “30 Rock” run knows accents are not her strength. …

… a compelling, sometimes funny, sometimes poignant dramatization of the behind-the-scenes machinations of the Republican side of the 2008 presidential campaign … Moore and Harris may have the higher profile roles, but it is Woody Harrelson who is the real star of the film as McCain campaign strategist Steve Schmidt. In a strong, quiet performance, Harrelson portrays Schmidt as a smart, thoughtful, loyal man who is trying to do right by his boss and his country but becomes increasingly alarmed as Palin becomes more powerful and less of a team player. Sarah Paulson also impresses as Palin aide Nicolle Wallace, whose job to prepare Palin becomes combative.

... exactly what you would assume an HBO film about Sarah Palin to be, and possibly even a little bit less than that. Palin isn't quite as broadly-drawn as, say, many of the Republican bogeymen on "The West Wing," where even though I agreed with the writer's politics, I cringed at the one-sided portrait of the other side, but nor is it particularly insightful or three-dimensional in telling this very familiar, very divisive story. Even if you take the side of the authors and filmmakers over Palin and believe that the film is 100% accurate, it doesn't shed enough new light on things to be worth the trouble of making, or watching. …

... If you think America dodged a bullet when Sarah Palin (Julianne Moore) lost the vice presidency, this movie is happy to agree. If you love the former Alaska governor, you will hate the film with the fire of a midnight sun. But even to this non–Palin supporter, it all feels like piling on–the campaign movie as blooper reel. …

… isn't going to change minds among haters or admirers of the former Alaska governor. It may not be vicious enough to satisfy Ms. Palin's worst enemies, and it is unflattering enough to offend her supporters. When it's all over, both camps will retreat to their respective corners, some glad, some sad, and none much the wiser. ...

… a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at politics -- as long as you're a Democrat (or a Republican willing to admit that Palin was a blunder -- but even then, the other elements will likely put you off). And yet, credit Game Change for at least trying to dramatize that moment in time. It is, for the left especially, an indictment of anti-intellectualism and our inherently flawed system for choosing our leaders.

… a home run: a big, smart, entertaining and extremely promotable showcase for marquee stars, generating tons of attention (flattering and otherwise) from political and media strongholds in D.C. and New York, in addition to the usual suspects. …

She was on television at work the other day, being interviewed, and after about thirty seconds, the entire room was motioning for someone to please change the fucking channel.
The woman is a douchebag. I think most people, democrats and republicans, know this. Yet she still comes across as if she wants people to take her seriously, and even vote for her.
An oblivious trainwreck. That's what she is.
I'm glad no one is taking her seriously anymore.

There's a reason political parties exist and there's a reason people fucking hate it when politicians cozy up closer to the competing party than their own. Party unity = de facto totalitarianism. Vive La Différence!

That is a fucking perfect description. There is a reason why she has been largely ignored since her "bus tour" during the GOP primaries.
They put a leash on her. Since US politics are such a fucking SOAP OPERA to me - I wanted to see her run wild but they muzzled her. And just wait...They will muzzle Paul, Gingrich, Santorum & the GOP will be stuck with Pretty-boy Mitch.
And Bama will eat him for lunch during a debate.
It's not about policies, it's not about looks; it will come down to "zingers". Obama will *trounce* Rommey.

and you just wanted to take him aside and say, "Dude, you can do better than this. You can do a LOT better than this." Hell, when I heard he had picked a female candidate, I thought McCain had done the ultimate "fuck you" to partisan politics and asked Hillary to run as veep.

Except for that discussion at the end of It's A Trap!, I have NEVER seen McFarlane, or the writers, make a joke about himself on Family Guy, or American Dad or Cleveland Show for that matter. He's made a joke, sometimes good, sometimes squirm-inducing, about every race, creed, colour, religion, deviant criminal offense, social issue - why not a few shots at himself once in a while?

Hercules is terrified by a fictitious Hollywood left-wing hatchet job designed long ago to torpedo a potential Palin Presidential run. Shocking. And who knew that Julianne Moore couldn't be 1/100th as sexy or cheeky as the real Palin. Fail.

Come on. Are you serious? Palin is intimating that she may still run this year if there is an open convention. And every democrat is LOVING the idea!
She torpedoed McCain's campaign with her idiocy, and she will do the same to any presidential campaign she runs or attaches herself to.
I know that people who subscribe to the Limbaugh/Beck newsletter have to see Palin as this conservative ideal, and the liberal media are tearing her down because they're afraid of her power and potential. I know those are the talking points that you swallow. But honestly, that's crap. Palin is a joke in media because she's a joke in reality. The "liberal media" and all of us "liberals" are DYING for her to make a legit run at ANY political office, because not only she will fail, she will further drive that nail into the republican party (between traditional fiscal conservatives and evangelical christian social conservatives) that we have been waiting for for a decade. Because that split is going to happen sooner or later, and it's going to guarantee democratic electoral victories for 12 years!
We love Palin, man. We're not scared of her, we love her.

and by sunday 5000 people turned up and the organisers had to turn people away..
these people want to get out of the country. to australia, new zealand and canada.
in the same venue the political party who were in power through the boom. held its ard fheis or conference. and Bertie was there as was his successor brian cowen and its current and last leader Micheal Martin. Martin and cowen were given standing ovations.
the current coalition govt in power for over a year were going to hold a bit of a celebratory do and the best and girls in the class were going to be given gold stars. untill fine gaels partners in govt labour poured cold water over the idea.

Julianne Moore was interviewed on The Daily Show last week, and she's still hot as hell. The clip from the movie looked pretty great, as well. What I wouldn't give for a right-wing roll in the hay three-way with Julianne and Tina Fey in their best Palin get-up.
On a different note, since you, Hercules, are a "longtime registered republican" who has never voted for the Democrat party, does that mean you voted for the McCain/Palin ticket in 2008? Because if so, it's going to be hard to take you seriously from here on out. No matter how much you love Whedon and loathe Leno.
And finally, Herc hasn't managed to take down Seth MacFarlaine, Jay Leno, or Sarah Palin because they appeal to morons, and morons - left wing, right wing, whatever - are the majority. Keep fighting the good fight, Herc.

As a POW, his bumbly old man stuff gets a pass from me.
I will point out though how he withstood years of torture in a camp but when it came down to running for Pres; he folded & did whatever his handlers told him too to get elected.
Two very different types of psychological warfare but only one was effective.
Pairing Palin with him was a last grasp & they SOLD it to him. They thought she would be a lifeboat to the demo they weren't picking up ...
Women.

The media types are all breathless and silly (as usual) over this. The real world doesn't care. Another liberal movie about a conservative? Oh, sure, it will be fair.
Probably should be on the Cartoon Network instead of HBO.

That's pretty obvious and really isn't in question anymore. And this piece of crap is total fiction. As I've written here before, Palin was the ONLY thing...and I mean the ONLY thing that kept that old wrinkled turd McCain in the game for a while. I volunteered for McCain/Palin in WI (I'm a legit GOP'er, for good or ill) and made some decent connections to higher ups in the campaign and there was zero enthusiasm until he chose Palin and she gave her convention speech. Donations soared, we had more people wanting to help than we knew what to do with and things were great (McCain/Palin built a good lead in the polls). Then the financial collapse hit and McCain quit the campaign to go back to DC. You have no idea how PO'd the supporters were. The national campaign was hammered with calls demanding their contributions back (I am included in that...and they were returned) and our local office in WI went back to being a graveyard when very few people bothered to honor their commitments. Then when the old fart finally left DC, he further demoralized supporters by saying how good of a person Obama was and how he would make a good President. By this time, there were all sorts of theories about how McCain was purposely sabotaging his chances (why i have no idea, but it was suspicious).
And as I've written before, I met both Palin and her family and McCain and his family soon after the convention in WI. Palin could not have been any nicer and more "normal," which is 180 degrees opposite from McCain. The guy was grumpy, hated the retail campaigning, and his wife Cindy and daughter Meghan were total bitches. Palin's husband Todd and her daughters could not have been any more gracious and friendly, and this was true after the TV cameras had gone off. The only thing this work of fiction might get right is the conflict with Palin vs McCain's staffers. His team was filled with RINO's, and from what I understand, Palin was rightfully angry when McCain just threw in the towel by suspending is campaign.
Politics is an interesting game, to say the least. If there's ever an HBO movie about GW Bush, I'll tell some things about him I heard from a guy I met recently who served in the National Guard with him (yeah, Bush was really there).

Sarah Palin is even better looking in person. And naturally pretty, too. But you have to like the athletic type, nice legs/calves, etc. I last saw her a few years ago at a pro-life event and she still looked good. Saw her on TV recently and she has definitely aged.

By Hollywood liberals, only the naive who get their news from the Daily Show will accept this movie as fact, and those on the right will not buy into it....this movie changes nothing. They thought she would be running for president which is why its being released after super Tuesday. Tom Hanks used to make good movies, now he is a propaganda tool.

Bonus points for pulling your trigger and immediately jumping out of your asshole bag.
Seeing as how you're effectively standing in your own way of comprehension, I stand by my word of choice. But if you felt flummoxed as well, then you may be worse off than I thought...

Game Change is 23 chapters long. The McCain/Palin part covers a single chapter toward the end of the book. Now I can kind of understand the movie producers and writers being hesitant to touch the Edwards stuff after Elizabeth's recent passing. But to completely ignore the Obama/Clinton feud makes no sense unless this is a political hatchet job. Which when one considers who the people both in front and behind the camera are(hint: they've donated over 200 grand to Dems and ZERO to Republicans) and the timing of the premiere(4 days after Super Tuesday), it's pretty obvious HBO and crew gambled that Palin would be in middle of running for President which would generate huge interest in this flick and potentially harm her candidacy. Only problem is she passed on 2012, Romney's all but guaranteed to be the nominee, and Obama's record is bad that he's been forced to harp on contraception in order to distract people from noticing what they've been paying at the pump lately. Which means HBO is left with a work of fiction that has zero relevance to the current political landscape and that no one wants to watch. Nice job, guys.

Then what does that make you? You seem even more pathetic as you haunt these threads, stomp your feet, and demand that people listen to you.
Please, Sauron. Please tear the veil from our eyes and save us from the evil Herc.
You seem to hold a lot of vitriol for someone who's just a blogger on a website. I don't think for a minute anyone sincerely thinks that AICN is this bastion of literary criticism. And it's silly to think that Herc has these machinations of bringing down "Seth McFarlane, Jay Leno, et al."
He's just saying, in his own way, they suck.*
I think you need to calm down and have some dip.
*They do.

I doubt anyone thinks that the events portrayed here in "Game Change" are "fact." I think most people realize that this is simply a dramatization. Hell, I probably won't even watch the thing because I really couldn't care less.
But I love the movie "Chaplin" (by the way, props to the previous poster who referenced "The Great Dictator"), but I know that most of the events in the film probably didn't happen as they're depicted, or they didn't happen at all. That's what drama does.
Nobody here thinks "Julius Caesar" is factual. Or even a movie as slight and forgettable as "La Bamba."
It's just a movie.
But Sarah Palin is still a manipulative, power-hungry, moron. I would be willing to bet that is, indeed, a fact.

If she wasn't on McCain's ticket, he actually could have been elected, meaning by his own admission we'd be in Iran and Syria by now. And of course Bin Laden would still be alive. That is of course if he didn't drop dead of a heart attack and Palin was in charge of the country in which case we'd all be living in a post-apocalyptic Mad Max world.
Now since this is HBO and Jullianne Moore loves to get naked whenever they will let her, is there going to be a hot Palin sex scene?

This movie was made by people who have donated huge money to Obama. And the fact that an adviser to the campaign voted for Obama only shows a. that she had no real political principles. and b. the McCain campaign was a horribly run disaster, that tried to blame its incompetence / failures on Palin. By the way, I would not be interested in a Palin movie made by repubs that love her, or a Hillary Clinton movie made by republicans that hate her either. What's the point? Its bad enough seeing all this political bloodshed on the news, without watching crappy propaganda films like this. So sick of politics right now.

Might have respected your review had you not resorted to calling Palin a "half-wit c*nt" in a recent post. I expected better from a Whedon fan. Alas, Buffy taught you nothing.
My personal opinion of Palin lies somewhere in the middle of all the love and hate. Not stupid and not Reagan either. However, the portrayal of Palin in this movie comes from the source of Steve Schmidt, the man who ran the losing campaign of 2008. In order to get hired in the future you have to have a scapegoat. That's tough politics. But I take his version of events with a grain of salt. I'll probably watch the film and enjoy it anyway.
There was once a preachy movie starring Joan Allen about what would happen when a woman is considered for high office. I think Palin got much worse treatment mainly from the left, some from the right, and also from Herc. Stay classy.

...for angry, sincere Republicans. They have a lot to be angry about, but instead of getting their own house in order, they get mad at the OTHER side because their side is falling apart. That misplaced anger is not going to keep their side from falling apart.
If you want to get elected, get your act together, be rational, and make a rational case to the American people. Otherwise you will simply abdicate to the Democrats year after year after year.
Don't get angry at the Dems. Look yourselves in the mirror and remember personal responsibility is the cornerstone of modern conservatism.

There is a fundamental truth to politics: housewives win elections. 35 year old white housewives are the ones who decide elections. They are the swing vote between the two sides. The problem for the GOP, the one they have never been able to wrap the minds and arms around, is that you arent going to win them over (and thus, the election) throwing town hall meetings that look like Klan rallies. The image I will always remember from 2008 is McCain, with a "PLEASE STFU!!" look on his face, helplessly standing in front of rabid town hall crowds screaming "KILL HIM!!" and "OBAMA BIN LADEN!!", knowing how this must look on TV, watching any chance he had slip away.

leading the propaganda race as usual.
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Enjoy your busted up economy, asshats.
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Truth has a liberal bias? No selective statements and carefully planned propaganda have a liberal bias. The media has a STRONG and dangerous liberal bias. And now (if you're a weak minded moron) you have a liberal bias.
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It's sickening to watch but America's deep rooted and festering infection is turning people into fascists who look at the right wing leaning people in their country and inexplicable try to claim that they're the ones who are fascists. It's clear that if you live on either coast of the states you are REQUIRED to think a certain way. Otherwise you're the subject of everyone else's conditioned hate.
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Enjoy your propaganda. Just don't expect to keep your job.

The conservative posters here today are particularly funny and clueless.
Guess they are all prematurely pissed that their presidential candidate, one of the four clowns left, are not viable candidates. I would be pissed too.
Oh wait, I'm a registered Republican! I am, assholes.
Guess that might flummox some of you idiots who sound like bleeting sheep at a sweater festival.

"Win big"? Does it feel like they "won big" now, two tiny years later? They picked up a lot of seats in the House...and that's about it. They still didn't get a majority in the Senate, and if the winds continue blowing in the same direction as they are now, many Democrats will catch that wind right along with Obama.
That's not to say Obama couldn't lose in 2012. But if he DOES lose, it will be HIS fault, not through the clear positions and rational arguments of Republicans running against him.

A registered Republican? Then you'd obviously be privy to the Rasmussen poll out today that shows Romney up 5 on Obama and Santorum(you know, that crazy Catholic who's unelectable) up 1. Hell, even Ron Paul is only down 2. And that's in the heat of the primary campaign when the base is fractured. Once the nominee is settled on(it'll almost certainly be Romney, BTW), Republicans and conservatives alike will unite behind him, Obama will be mired at 45% or lower, and maybe we can finally get some semblance of leadership in the White House again. Unless of course as a "registered Republican", you prefer 4 more years of a man who goes out of his way to phone Sandra Fluke to express his sympathy for her needing 1000 bucks a year for birth control(I'm still trying to figure out the logistics of that) but to this date has never called the family of murdered border agent Brian Terry who was killed by a gun Obama's administration put in the hands of Mexican drug cartels. Hey, HBO. Why not make a movie about that instead of the losing Presidential ticket from 4 years ago?

Unless Mitt gets a 2012 version of Sarah quarter-wit cunt Sarah P. to be his running mate, he won't get enough votes, because conservastives care too much about religion, and mormons are not christian to too many of the empty-headed, holier-than-though zealot bigots.
As a registered republican, Obama could be a lot worse, but he's just a centrist who really does not represent the left, swo republicans should be voting for him more than Romney, or not voting at all, out of unenthusiastic apathy for Romney's haughty phoniness.

Dammit. My quote failed.
Anyway, last week Obama was up 8 by Rasmussen. This week is is down 5.
Virtually all other polls show Obama up.
If the sudden swing up 5 for Romney is real, then we should not only see that pattern continue in the weeks ahead, but in the other polls as well.
I'm not holding my breath.

If Sarah Palin knew of a film being made that showed her in a positive light- it would be according to her, *God's Plan* to make it. Just as she considered it *God's Plan* to be nominated for VP.
If the movie showed her, warts and all, both positive and negative, the movie would be, according to her, *the work of the devil.*
Church lady says so. How convenient.

....because Snooki and Paris weren't one heart attack away from running the most powerful country in the world?
....because Snooki and Paris are entertainers?
....because our leaders should be the best and the brightest?

...obviously, as a militant atheist, u have no idea of the Christian faith. so, why dont u quit embarrassing urself constantly by trying to speak of it? anyway, dont u have a rerun of ABC's GCB's to watch?

If McCain really wanted to go female, Kay Bailey Hutchison--while not exactly a genius--would have been a perfectly fine choice. But since she doesn't agree women--mostly financially strapped women--need to have a wand shoved up her pussy and look at a clump of cells on an ultrasound at 1 grand on taxpayer's dime (gotta love small government conservatives), she wasn't even considered. So on advice from a Jew who runs the Weekly Standard who has never been correct on anything, we get a woefully unprepared governor who expoused small town values yet lived in a town with the highest rate of meth dealing and DWIs in the entire country...I consider my political label "liberally inclined", but I don't like Obama. Never have, mostly because he reminds me of Bush II: he seems to like the IDEA of being president rather than putting in the 14-16 hour days the job should require. But if I was in a state that actually was up for grabs, I would vote for him--because I have enough respect for women to know they should have complete autonomy of their own bodies, which should be a small government position. So my question is: why would a party piss off half the voting population where 3/4 of them are being repulsed by the batshit crazy to vote for a 2nd Obama term, even if they aren't thrilled about it? I am geniunely interested in an honest response.

Herc loves to pretend to be an independent and moderate while bashing any and every Conservative that he can.
Herc makes me PROUD to be a Conservative Black man. I want to be as much unlike Herc as a human being can possibly be.
Hercules: Worst. AICN personality. Ever!
Even he knows that his coaxial column wouldn't solicit has as many hits if he didn't meander into politics.
Harry: FIRE HERCULES!!!
*Of course, this might actually get me banned...again. Hercules has no patience for real diversity (especially in regard to political or religious persuasion).

I am a registered Republican but I am a liberal. This fact makes conservatives heads explode, or they deem me a liar.
If given a choice between Obama or Romney, who would you vote for?
Or would you not vote, or waste it on a write-in?

Long time no Talk(back). Hope you are well and having fun.
I won't be in this particular TB much, but will look for you in the weekly Justified TBs, maybe. Now THAT is a great show.
So far, I like AWAKE, but it is early, could still falter.

That's like saying given a choice would I rather fuck the corpse of Amy Winehouse or Whitney Houston. Obama, mainly because my "liberally inclined" belief system would like a 5-4 Supreme Court slant and I would hope an Obama win would FINALLY make the GOP realize social conservatives aren't the majority just because they yell the loudest and have a well-organized pyramid scheme. A 2016 Brian Schweitzer v. Jon Huntsman contest would raise the collective IQ of the country a solid 10 points. But I'm not counting on it.

Sarah Palin is the reason why John McCain lost the Presidential election.
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Liberals want Sarah Palin to run for President in 2012.
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Sarah Palin running for President will be the end of the Republican party.
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If John McCain was elected, we'd be engaged in war with Syria and Iran.
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Republicans just love to play the victim card.
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The people behind this movie are Democrat contributors that banked on strategically derailing a Sarah Palin candidacy.
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This movie is a work of fiction that has zero relevance to the current political landscape and that no one wants to watch.
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Sarah Palin is a dumb cunt.
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John McCain would have died in office from a heart attack (need another 8 more months for this one, but including it for sake of completeness).
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Republicans throw town hall meetings that look like Klan rallies.
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Sarah Palin has little to no experience as a politician.
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Obama is just a centrist who really does not represent the left.
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This movie was made by people who have donated huge money to Mitt Romney.
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President Obama called to apologize to the family of murdered border agent Brian Terry, who was killed by a gun the Obama administration put in the hands of Mexican drug cartels.
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Truth has a liberal bias.
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Anyone who thinks that Biden was brilliant for the VP gig is an idiot or a Democrat.
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Neither fiscal conservatives nor evangelical christian social conservatives would unite to support Sarah Palin.
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Because Sarah Palin had an (R) after her name and had audacity to deliver her Downs baby, she'll never replace Hillary Clinton as the Greatest Woman Ever.
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No one cares anymore about Sarah Palin anymore.
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If John McCain was elected, Osama bin Laden would still be alive.
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The conservative posters here today are particularly funny and clueless.
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Jercules is a registered Republican.
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Jercules votes Republican.

Conservatives aren't a "majority," but they do represent 42% of the population. Another 40% are Moderate.
Just 18% identify themselves as "Liberal."
So, Conservatives outnumber liberals by a margin of more than 2-to-1.

...are self-identified liberals.
If you poll people on there specific stances on specific issues, you'll notice a significant difference all the way down the line.
Besides, god wanted Obama to be president. That's why he won. QED. Why would god want Obama to be president for only one term? Just to pull us out of the mess the country was in? It's only logical that god's plan for Obama is not over, and that more work needs to be done. I'm sure if Obama wins, 100% of Americans will agree it was god's plan all along.

We knew (anticipated it, no less) that this review would add an additional "politcal commentary" or your 2 cents about how moronic Palin is.
All i can counter with is this: when they make the countless Obama movies (and will) will you be as vitriolic as this regarding Obama's failures or just say "fuck it" and let cinema try to make Obama as the man who saved everybody?
Consider the source material, the film crew and actors (oddly liberal, so hey, no biases there) and then tell me as a professional critic that this movie is not a bit heavy handed in its approach.
Sarah Palin nor John McCain were my ideal choice for 2008. They were flawed and unprepared for the Obamatron.
but...I am still believe in Hope and Change.
(I Hope obama leaves me enough Change to buy food this week.)

These are the same clowns that made the laughbly awful Recount film. Pretty much everyone that surrounded the campaign has said that this story is complete fiction and only a complete braindead partisan would find it interesting.
I don't like Palin, but this is just garbage. If they were going to make a movie from Game Change is should have been on the Hilllary vs. Obama part of the campaign that was significantly more interesting.

I take it no one considered that "conservative" and "liberal" means something different to different people in different periods of time.
The fact that the percentages of these self-identified people over several years didn't change doesn't mean anything, as the LABELS don't necessarily mean the same thing in each of those years either. It may be "conservative" to be against nation building in 2001 (as was argued by "conservatives" that year), and "conservative" to nation build Iraq in 2003-2011 (as was/is argued by "conservatives" now). It may have been "liberal" to treat people with AIDS like human beings in 1988, but nowadays you'd find it difficult to find anyone who thinks those with AIDS should be shunned, kept out of schools, the public, etc, conservative or not.
It's the same mistake made when test scores for 10th graders "stayed the same" as last year. Nothing actually "stayed the same" (or went up, or went down) because this year's 10th graders are entirely different from LAST YEAR'S 10th graders. As is the test. All you can say is that the score last year's 10th graders got on last year's test was the same as the scores this year's 10th graders got on this year's test--which, in reality, means nothing. Even if the test is perfectly metaphysically testing the exact same skills, the kids are not the same since last year's 10th graders are now in the 11th grade, and this year's 10th graders were in 9th grade last year and didn' take the test.

That's a quote from VA governor McDonnell. Link me to ANYONE, anywhere who is defending a vaginal ultrasound requirement. The dumshits in the legislature just wanted to make doctors "establish gestational age" but didn't realized this meant a vaginal ultrasound in many cases, thus they dropped it.

Good to see you too, sir. Wow, it has been quite a long while. Now that I think about it, it seems like there have been several old-school Talkbacker sightings in the past few days. Could the tide be turning once again?
Agreed on JUSTIFIED - a really good show with some great dialogue. Unfortunately, I started watching it late and have only made it through the first season. So, I'm doing my best to avoid this season's spoilers. (Catch me up, Netflix!)
Cheers!

Kinda funny that they adapt a book titled "Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime" and leave out the Obamas and Clintons. As an Independent, I got no dogs in this fight, but the book made members of both parties look pretty bad including making Harry Reid and Bill Clinton look racist. It is interesting that they only chose to focus on Sarah Palin as the complete moron part of the book.

I read the book and although I thought it was a hatchet job on all the candidates, the Democratic Primary section was far more interesting and would have made a better movie. I found the Sarah Palin stuff mostly redundant with stuff we already knew.

The answer is both. A representative democracy has to reflect the opinions of the people. Our system is built on compromise and negotiation. It's rigged to only allow two parties, neither of which reflect the views of the American people.

I'm offering a personal $50 bounty to the first one of you bent-dick, hoopleheaded cocksuckers that can shove his own head up his own ass and try farting from that fuckin' position. And no upper limit!

And callin' a woman of the camp a "slut" is a sure fire way of getting your dick shoved in the dirt. Unless you've got the fuckin' proof, you'd be wise to shut your fuckin' mouth before you run headfirst into an unfriendly fuckin' rejoinder.

Actually, self-identity typically explains what people to believe about themselves.
I am an African American. According to the GSS (General Social Survey), African Americans are the MOST conservative demographic in terms of social issues like abortion, homosexual activist goals, religious freedoms, and even family involvement.
The only two areas in which African Americans are "liberal" are in areas of social welfare and racial justice issues. However, the majority of African Americans consider themselves "liberal" even though they only identify with Liberals in a couple of areas.
So, the number of self-identity may certainly be skewed. However, Gallup also has a poll showing that those same individuals on the right and left tend to vote "party line." In other words, self-identified Liberals almost always vote for Democrats. Self-identified Conservatives almost always vote for Republicans. The Moderates (who comprise 36-40%) are the individuals who are most likely to cross party lines.
The last presidential election happened in a year that was very favorable for Democrats. Yet, in 2008, Obama won the election with just 52.7% of the vote. If he barely won a majority in a year that was very favorable for him (and when his approval rating was in the mid-70s), what do you think that outcome will be in November?
Obama's only hope is for individuals to not question his performance over the last four years...and that the approval rating of Mitt Romney (the likely nominee) to fall below the 42-46% rating that Obama has held for the last two years.
There is still plenty of time for ANYONE to win the election. A major flub by a candidate (an "October surprise") or a proper vetting of Obama (that didn't happen in 2008) could be enough to turn the tide of the election.
In November, we will be dealing with a victory determined by a small % of voters. Obama has several things working against him. People are less enthused by "making history" (the novelty wore off and we are left with the man)...and many people are coming to realize that "hope and change" was ambiguously defined at best.
Obama's handling of the economy and the terribly unpopular Obamacare will be major issues going into the November vote. If the economy can pick up and finally drop below the rate that it was on inauguration day (*7.8% -- it has been more than 8% since 2009), then Obama might have a chance. If real unemployment and inflation is higher, then Obama will have to do a great acting job (with help from his friends in the media) to overcome such a detrimental figure.
Of course, with the media's help, Obama overcame the fact that he was the least qualified president in history in 2008. So, you can never say never.

Sandra Fluke also wrote an article demanding that Catholic universities pay for "gender reassignment" surgeries too.
She is nothing more than a liberal hack job posing as a 30 yr old "college student."

Come on, McDonnell was just feeling the heat, probably including his wife and daughters, and just played the "Duh, I didn't know" card. But here is a link from my own esteemed representative, Dan "I'm A Fiscal Conservative but Declared Bankruptcy Twice" Patrick: dancewiththereaper.com/2012/02/17/is-this-for-real/

The guy's smart, knows his tv shit, writes very well, is great at sniffing out plot threads, and drives the single-minded crazy with his commentary.
Quint is also great, on the movie side of the site.
Folks who gripe about Herc are typically people who are backing a particular horse -- be it political, a favorite or despised show, etc.
You know this to be true.

I don't get it. They get some pissed off and use "libtards" as terms. What is wrong with white 40 year olds? Like is it just they hate people getting laid? I'm starting to think that's what it is.
This movie looks decently well made. I'll watch it sometime. Palin is already old news since that Nazi in a sweater vest Santorum out crazies her every time he speaks. He's only funny because he's so deep in the closet. He's scarier than Palin is though by a thousand times over.
But someone needs to figure out why "Conservatives" are so angry all the time. It's weird and sad.

You know it's coming. Liberals and Conservatives are becoming more extreme and unhinged by the day. The end justifies the means, to these people. Meanwhile the real problems of the country keep getting worse.
Makes me think this country really is dead, and it just doesn't know it yet. The 'entitlement' generation might just be the last.

He's using the annoying one to wake up all the conservatives in the country and remind them, as he has to do about once every 15-20 years, that progressivism is the biggest threat to American society there is.
I'm sure the Romans thought that allowing the Visigoths to just march on in and settle was a great plan at the time too. And that thing about everybody just worshipping every god out there just in case, good job. The US is on the exact same path to disaster, in a quarter the time.

It was ok, not nearly as good as the HBO movie about W's election. This was a hitjob on Palin, and it was unfair, but that's fine. She deserves it. But the bit about Wallace bawling because she couldn't bear to vote for Palin was hammy and absurd. No offense Danny Strong (Nerds of Doom 4-EVA!!!)

I'm learning so much about how intelligent political debate has no place in the average American's political interests.
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Fucked up thing is while every other country including my own (Canada) criticises you for it we all do the exact same things only lamer and with uglier people. Btw Rob Ford is an awesome mayor. If only Chris Farley were still alive to play him in a CBC movie. I'm assuming his career was not going to go well.

The people I'm around will not look at this as my god, Palin is an idiot. They'll say, look at the hack job they did to her. They'll put themselves in her shoes and say, this is exactly what they would do to as well.
The elephants don't think the obvious way sadly and stuff like this will make them even more upset than usual. And that is saying something since their m.o. is to play the martyr. aka victim.

Cause while most of you ignorant cocksuckers are arguing over which particular set of fuckin' politicians is right for America, the rug is being pulled out from under your fuckin' feet.
As those vipers in Washington grease their pockets whilst placating you with promises of freedom, tax cuts and the like...fuckin' cocksuckers like Hearst are buying elections, rigging the game, and muscling good standing operators out of their own fuckin' homes, businesses and territory so as see to their own greedy, fuckin' interests.
And while they're doing it...they'll set the whole fuckin' place on edge, about how some godless dirt-worshippin' heathen is going to burn down the whole fuckin' camp. So, they'll send your sons and your fuckin' daughters over to some godless fuckin' place while they tell all you hoopleheads just what it means to be a patriot in these godforsaken times...lest you don't want to be accused of being some cow-eyed traitor to the cause...which lines the very fuckin' pockets of Hearst and every other corporate cocksucking viper in Washington.
Bankers, lawyers, warmakers, and profiteers. They bought and sold this country long ago. The promise of the fuckin' frontier? Ass fucked. Manifest Destiny and the like? Fuckin' over. Why reconnoiter the outer rim when you can just keep crushing your own fuckin' kind, huh?
I'll tell you this, son. You can mark my words. Tying oneself to a singular way of thinking about this fuckin' country is a good way to buy yourself one good, long term ass fucking. So...mind your fuckin' posture...or prepare to grab ankle.

Just so happens that I'm looking for a few new whores to work at my joint. Sucking cock and the like. You'll let me know if this is of any interest to you and your future.
I'll make sure you have a roof over your head as long as you keep your legs in the air during business hours. If your snatch gets sore or drippy, I can have the Doc take a look during one of his regularly scheduled fuckin' visits.

Your name is more colorful than the fuckin' rainbow.
I'm pretty fuckin' sure I understand the realities of what's going on. In my line of work, you need to be on top of every angle...and at least three moves ahead.

Of course, there's a (regrettably high) chance the GOP will retain the House AND take the Senate, so, rest assured, sociopathic conservatives, you still have a chance to strangle the country and stomp it to death under the boot of your angsty-hatred, ignorance, and profound delusion.

She has the face of a chipmunk. And those hoopleheads who've been working in the mines, thinking of cunt all day, don't like the idea of fuckin' some whore that looks like a rodent.
Now, I'd offer the option of makin' her wear a burlap sack over her head or maybe some of that heathen fuckin' warpaint to cover up her less than comely fuckin' features. But that leads one in the direction of degenerates and specialists...which, as you may fuckin' know, disrupt a joint's action.

Danny Strong said the reason he made the movie focus on Palin was she most represented the idea of a "Game Change," but there were way more interesting things in the book than Sarah Palin's adventures in delusion-land.
I appreciate that so many of you made up your minds before even seeing the movie, though. That's some real open-mindedness you guys have got there.

a second Obama Administration.
Sorry guys - Palin may not be the right choice for America, but we certainly didn't make one by voting in the imbecile we have now.
We need to stop voting for Presidents like its a popularity contest. "Hey that guy, he's kinda cool. I like cool!" is how imbeciles elect other imbeciles.

A man walked into an irish tv studio last year for the final presidential debate. Sean Gallagher exited the frontline studio with his presidential career in tatters down to tweet which the host pat kenny put to him.
the tweet which is now revealed to utterly bogus, was sent it was alleged via a martin mcguinness twitter feed.
gallagher complained that sf were trying to take him out.
Bai upheld Gallaghers complaint. Gallaghers use of the word envelope. cemented Fianna fail cronyism in the public eyes. Higgins won the election. and won that by a million votes.
RTE also broadcast a documentary about a man called father kevin reynolds. its allegation was without foundation. that he reynolds raped a young kenyan girl and fathered her child. RTE admitted this was total rubbish and went ahead with the program anyhow.
but in ireland right now in the year 2012 it is twittergate that wont go away. Gallagher will likely sue rte for defamation of character. Higgins was the best of a bad lot. The public saw through gallagher's lies and his denials about his fianna fail's past. Gallagher was walked towards the edge of a cliff and Mcguinness gently pushed him over.

It ate my talking points lol
I meant, that is what I said when she was announced. When the Republican Party gives me a candidate worth voting for, call me, and yes, been a registered Republican since 1984 and vote Republican in state politics but only twice since that time nationally. McCain should have been president in 2000, and I did vote for him out of loyalty, but I admit I do feel President Obama has proven himself more than capable for the office. It is up to the voters to decide if he deserves another term, so instead of bitching about vaginas, get out there and campaign for your candidate of choice, and thank that God you are always going on about that you live in a country where you still can have a voice in who governs, and if you are a woman, you better take a good, hard look at the men who are trying to take away your inalienable rights as human beings, and decide if that is the kind of leaders you want making decisions for you. Pat McCrory, NC governor 2012!

So, how's being an angry, obese, woman-hating virgin on vicodan in a downward spiral on the wrong side of history working out for you, Rush?
Btw, to reiterate, you realize, of course, that conservative women also want access to contraception, right? That most people don't care one way or the other about gay marriage? That the vast majority of people (who aren't dirty hippies) think the elite 1% should, like the rest of us, pay their fair share? Um, DERRRRRRRRP!
You lost. So sorry!

I might be sticking my head in the lions mouth but here goes. I do like reading these politically charged TB's. I rarely chip in as it's not really my place to comment. For a country with the word United in its name you do seem to enjoy hating each other a lot (much like my own country, hate seem to be the political norm at the moment). Having visited your lovely country and speaking as a lifelong, socialist, liberal, hippie type, there is a hell of a lot more right with your country than is wrong. Again much like my own country and I'm tired of those on the far right and the far left saying its all going to pot just because it's not exactly how you want it to be. Maybe it's just me getting more mellow with age but I'm beginning to subscribe to the notion that there is no left or right anymore in a socially networked world as we live in now. There is only constructive or destructive and I don't care which political ideology a good idea comes from if it works. That said I know plenty of people in the UK, both right and left that we're planning to stock up on tinned goods if Palin got elected as VP to a man in his late 70's.

..."McCain should have been president in 2000, and I did vote for him out of loyalty,"
He was far better than Bush, and I would have voted for him over Gore any day (and I'm a Democrat). But what happened in 2008 made it impossible to vote for him.
Also, after watching the movie, I think I understand Palin better. If anything, the movie made me more sympathetic toward her.
It also makes me extremely curious who Romney will pick for his running mate, how he will pick them, and why.
(I loved the McCain line in the movie when all was said and done, and they were looking back in hindsight. "What else were we supposed to do?" It's a very good question. It's difficult to see how the could have done any better under any other scenario.)

Yes Joe Biden has a law degree from Syracuse University.... when he was there there was big scandal because he got caught plagiarizing. It was all hushed up but came to light when one of the deans (the gay one who divorced his state assemblywoman wife) got a little too tipsy during a cocktail party. That's who we have as a veep: plagiarizer. Not too important in the big scheme of things, but indicative of a person's work ethic/morals. Just goes to show there are skeletons in everyone's closet. To quote Michael Clark Duncan as the Kingpin "No one is innocent....No one", especially if you're a politician. Trust none of them.

... win more awards and be called a great actress and comedian because of only her portrayal of Sarah Palin and nothing else? Maybe Julianne Moore will win the first Oscar for a TV movie for portraying Sarah Palin. Wouldn't put it past them. Worked for Tina Fey, donchaknow.

That's because all you get is their media. Go there and it's the complete opposite.
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As a Canadian left wing lunatics in the states embarrass themselves and their country every chance they get. The right gets painted as horrible people but it's ALL bullshit. Complete lies. The more the media goes on the attack the worse they look and the only reason they need the brainwashing is because they're wrong on most points.

He was on the irish version of a show called dragons den.
Gallagher Left that to pursue high office and he ran as an independent in the Irish Presidential election...
He was one of seven candidates. Now sean had a long connection with Fianna Fail the party that crashed the economic car over the cliff. and the irish media were after him about that and he refused to answer those questions..
first two debates in the were dull and boring. Martin mcGuinness apparently harangued and belittlled Miram O Callaghan after she chaired the primetime debate over his links to the ira and dana had a meltdown on tv....
the last debate is the one that sparked the utterly dull campaign in to life when the host of front line read out a tweet claiming to come from a Sinn Feinn twitter feed. one tweet was about a Claim that gallagher had gone to the home of notorious fuel smuggler and given him a cheque for 5k. that wasnt true. and that sinn feinn were going to produce this man at press conference. that never happened.
what the hell is all the fuss about. the tweet was entirely bogus. but the host read it out anyway.
this comes ontop of a documentary which levelled a serious allegation about a priest. the primetime show called mission to prey was defamatory. the accusation was that a priest called father kevin reynolds raped a young kenyan girl and brought the kid up as his child.
rte admitted that the central part of the show was without foundation and went ahead and showed the show anyway.
we all live in a world where social media is the norm and tv stations now have social media departments.
but I know what its like to have something said which isnt true. its a private matter and i would like to leave it at that...

This wouldn't be an attempt to try to rehabilitate the image of the GOP by picking one sacrifice to blame for all their weaknesses and throw her under the bus?
Don't forget that an entire war was started in the decade before the Sarah Palin fiasco because of a failure to vet the facts before running with them. She was a symptom of the party's problems, not the cause of them.

Caught the rerun that aired at 7 pm. My friend came back last night and I missed the original airing. Anyway, I thought the movie was excellent. I thought it showed perfectly the current state of politics. McCain, tried to run an old fashioned and honest campaign. Both Obama and Palin were loved so much because how they played into their public popularity. McCain was an old dog in a race with a new set of rules.
Moore will win every award for this film just like Danes did for "Temple Grandin".

Since this POS was written by another Obama-democrat sycophant. Now Palin was far more qualified to be Presidnet than the current idiot in there as she has actually held a real job in her life and not sucked off the taxpayers tit for their entire life like Odumba.

Moore just delivered the lines like a robot and did'nt show some of the more charming elements of Palin's speaking style. Say what you like but she did have a certain way of entertaining people with her animated down-home style. This could have shown both angles but it was very one-sided.

The sole purpose of the modern American self-proclaimed "conservative" is to use their imagined moral superiority to justify the numerous avenues they use to attempt to inflict abuse on others.
Most are worked up in an impotent rage, eager for the nukes to drop, to simultaneously prove their point and also relieve them of the deeply insecure psychological state that causes them to lash out with so much hostility toward members of their own species.
They are indeed fearful and terrified, in fact worked up into a paranoia. Why is that? Because they know about a vast conspiracy directed toward them personally. A vast conspiracy of gays, muslims, athiests, sluts, juicers, junkies, communists, north koreans, persians, drag queens, bloggers, leakers, hackers, jews, blacks, socialists, furries, clowns, gigolos, juggalos, gangsters, school teachers and nurses are all coming for them. Right now! PANIC! They really are coming for you! It's true! They plan to take over and destroy your way of life.
Why? to enact Satan's plan for Earth, and Satan uses his Liberal agents to deliver. What is that plan you ask? Why it is a Nazi-like socialist regime where everybody is turned gay, AND gets all the birth control they can use. Just imagine that scenario in your mind. Picture it in detail. There will be no need for minimum wage or labor unions, because 100% of your income will be taken and given to the Satanic welfare freeloaders! You will be starving and penniless, forced to breed dogs in order to feed on their offspring. But your liberal neighbors will soak in the luxurious lap of the welfare state. You may end up ironically begging the Mexicans to come streaming over the border unhindered, their innate Catholicism as a last defense against the rapid spread of Shariah law.
Don't like the secret plan that Obama has planned for you? We gun-toting Liberal Patriots have an old saying we like to use. "If you don't like it, then leave!". That's right. In 2000, over a half million more of us voted for Al Gore. By 2010, that margin of half a million margin increased to almost ten million votes when we elected Barack Hussein Obama. Starting to get the picture? You are hopelessly outnumbered. You have no chance to stop the vast conspiracy. Your only chance is to get out now, while you still can.

You know, the worst thing you can say about Sarah Palin... is that she sounds like Fran Drescher (the Nanny). That's it.
Can't say she ever demanded a $18,000/month office in San Francisco or 3 private jets at tax payer expense (much less develop a million dollar wine business with insider info) like Nancy Pelosi, or talk so much smack about casino business while palling around with the owners like Harry Reid, or dodge @ $75,000+ in income taxes off of rental properties like Charlie Rangel... hell, the list goes on.
Yet somehow, 3 and 1/2 years AFTER the 2008 election, we're seeing a movie about McCain and Palin? How is this relevant, important or topical? Is anyone going to bother to watch this? This just comes across as grown adults acting like teenagers rubbing it in the other sides face that "they won". Even then, it's a bit like people saying Bush masterminded the 9-11 attacks to get us into a middle eastern war... which took him 2 YEARS to get into. It all just seems rather pointless and underwhelming.
But you libs just keep exposing yourselves for who you truly are, as gas goes up to $5.00+ and people are forced to go through improperly tested body scanners. Yup. Real bastions of civil liberties and individual success.

You can go F yourselves. I can't say the woman was any more qualified than Obama or Hillary, but to overdramatize Palin like she was James Hollister from FIRESTARTER is like someone getting slapped on the back of the head and then taking a couple of seconds to realize, to follow it with a lot of fake wailing and falling to the floor like you got shot.
Annoying, yes. Crazy.. um, when? And where? You disagree with her LEAVE IT TO BEAVER persona? Fine, I can relate. But when and where did she ever indicate she wanted to start a nuclear war, destroy the value of the dollar or do anything that was clearly illogical to the degree of actually harming the country? Again, your OPINION doesn't count.. I'm talking about an honest-to-God policy idea she spoke about that would bring harm.
Can't do it.
Again, she sounds like Fran Drescher and pushes the 1950's angle way too much. Other than that, you have NOTHING. No covering up cheating husband while riding his coattails to power; no using her husband's power to enact a major government health care program while owning 51% stock in the one company that would run it; no promising to not use soft campaign contributions, only to turn down signing a contract to back that sentiment up. You have absolutely NOTHING to justify hating her as much as you do. Hell, she hasn't even done as much as Mayor Nagin (during Katrina), who ditched those people like Burke, and then somehow got RE ELECTED by the people he ditched.

Stow that "liberals are misogynists" crap. As if a little well-deserved name-calling of a dangerously incompetent public figure (mostly, but not all, by the left) is worse than repeated attempts to take away a woman's reproductive rights (the right).

Since no one will be able to post any links to articles or youtube posts to back up any counter argument (or essentially prove that she is at least AS corrupt as Obama, Hillary, Nagin, Bush, Pelosi and Reid), it will (as always) devolve into name-calling and other childish behavior.

Gas prices have absolutely nothing to do with who a sitting president is. Were you complaining when they were at record levels at the tail end of Bush's term (or is that inconvenient to your argument)? And you are right, Palin never did those things that you describe. She just raised millions upon millions of dollars hinting that she would run for president, which, of course, she never intended to. Of course she gave all that back, right?

where the FUCK do u get that from?? Obama instigated the MANDATE that Catholic institutions had to PROVIDE them....AGAINST THEIR RELIGIOUS BELIEF SYSTEM!!! no one...and i repeat NO ONE is denying any woman of ANYTHING! not one democrat nor one republican! a woman can still buy ANY type of contraception they want! news flash---its still legal! how fuking stupid can u progressives be?? to be hand fed this line of..."republicans want to take away ur right of reproduction"???? ignorance thy name is AICN!!!

I'm sure she'd win!! What do you guys not get? She's on par with Paris Hilton. She's not a politician, she's a reality TV star. Her politics are secondary and almost non-existant, she's about persona.
Also, I love how people jump at this and say "more left wing trash" while then immediately spewing a bunch of right-wing trash. What this means is their pissed the movie doesn't conform with their own narrow vision on life. I bet if this was a forum about a movie degrading Barack Obama, even if it was focused on how he's a "muslim socialist" or some other bullshit like that, that they would not be leveling the same complaints about how it's "right wing propaganda."
To quote The Wire, "A lie ain't a side of a story, it's just a lie."

Who is taking away a woman's reproductive rights? Every woman has access to all of it right now, either at reduced costs or free. They just want everyone else to pay for it. Nobody has a right to free stuff.

That's actually not what he did. It was more akin to civil rights laws saying you can't fire someone for being black.
It said that insurance companies must offer contraceptives if one is given their services, and if a Catholic Church offers insurance to an employee they can't pick and choose what they want to be covered by the insurance company.
But I can use more !!!!!! to make me sound smarter.

Also true, though not all conservatives agree with Santorum's radical far-right social agenda.
And a question, since i haven't seen this film yet. What exactly is a lie in it? I assume you've seen it, you can't call it liberal propaganda if you haven't seen it?
What is markedly false?

That was the only way they would win. McCain just did not want to go there.
McCain's statement in the hotel room about not listening to Rush and the other extremists showed how little he knew about her. Palin was a bedrock member of that part of the GOP all along.
In addition to not showing Palin's appearance on SNL, the movie left out McCain's appearance the Saturday night before the election. That's when I knew McCain conceded. He and CINDY MCCAIN were in the sketch, with Cindy doing the Carol Merril/Barker Beauty bit. Followed by Tina Fey holding up the Palin in 2012 t-shirt. I fell off the couch in laughter and shock. And I want to know what Palin thought of THAT!
Schmidt and Wallace now being employed by MSNBC is no accident. They are no longer players in the Republican Party. No telling how much of what they have said since 2008 is them telling the truth, and how much is them covering for their failures. As was said, Schmidt's team didn't pick Palin on their own, Bill Kristol of Fox News advocated for her for weeks.-------later------m

You know the iceberg is coming...but you can't stop watching because the supporting characters are so engaging...especiallly Harrelson. When the Game Change iceberg finally hits... It's just a brutal and eye-opening. <p>
The simple fact remains... Even if McCain had picked Joe Lieberman, he wouldn't have won. Which turned his whole campain into a gamble. A gamble that almost put a "hockey mom" one 72 year old missed heartbeat away from the big seat in the Oval Office. <p>
In hindsight...McCain is still going strong...and I'm sure Sarah would have been just as an effective Veep as Biden ... But, we'd still be in the exact same mess as a country had their ticket defeated Obama. <p>
Obama promised the hope of CHANGE. A change that never came... and what little change has been acheived, is a drop of water in the ocean compared to what kind of change is really needed. The McCain/Palin team would find themselves is the same sinking ship as Obama... with a do-nothing congress, so fearful of any change, they hogtie (any) President's ability to lead the country and put us back on top economically and geopolitically. <p>
That said... The thought of something happening to McCain had he won... leaving Palin running this country... makes me wanna vomit. It's been 4 years since her ill-fated rise to power & fame.... and she has not said... or worse... done... anything to erase the shortcomings of this woman that Game Change goes to great lengths to display. <p>
The best line in the film... I should say, the scariest line in the film comes at the very end of the story... after McCain has made his concession speech... delivered by Peter McNichol's character (Rick Davis). <p>
"C'mon... There's never going to be another Abraham Lincoln...or Thomas Jefferson running for the office of President again. Those days are over". <p>
So true, sadly. Anyone smart & talented enough for our highest office... is also too intelligent to ever subject themselves to today's electoral process. Mit? Newt? Santorum? <p>
Like Nicole Wallace... I don't plan on casting a vote this November... No matter who makes it to the top of the turd pile.

I was going to point out that you should really research what Obama did re: contraceptives before you look like an ass, but that has already been done for me. As for your statement about Conservatives not having an issue with contraception...you don't listen to Santorum much, do you? Maybe if I added some !!! you would pay attention more?

Regardless of the merits of the negativity, you have to be careful. Same thing happened with Bush. Go too negative and people associate you with those bad vibes, especially when the negativity is personal (ie Obama = muslim, not born in this country, atheist, anti-Christ, worst president ever, etc.)
Obama will easily win re-election this year because the GOP still hasn't realized it needs to start moving back to the center. However, the Senate and House are up in the air - I'd love to see more variety. Let's have some openly Libertarian, Green and purely Independent party members win.

Surprise, surprise.
Jesus Christ, Herc, you're not a political thinker so quit embarassing yourself. And you ain't covering yourself in glory by linking back to a bunch of lefty rags.
Link to Top Ten lies this movie perpetuates.
http://tinyurl.com/7lvs7nt
The short version is that Steve Schmidt and the rest of McLame's campaign staff have trash talked Palin to cover up their own mismanagement of the entire campaign and if you bother to actually PAY FUCKING ATTENTION to these things you would know it.
Oh, is Herc going to mention that HBO has been losing subscribers over this stupid movie and Bill Maher's misogynistic hate on against women who don't think like him? No? Yeah, thought not.

Note they NEVER say the GOP is best for America, because they know it's BS. Instead they go 100% negative and just talk about how much they hate Obama and how he's the ONLY reason America is in trouble and hope the general negativity drags down Obama enough that they can eek out victories.
And if they lose, well, at least the nation discussion will be as ugly as possible. Remember how good people felt about things November 2008? Yeah fuck that, man! FUCK HOPE! What most repubs don't realize is people weren't happy because Obama was president, they were happy because it SYMBOLIZED that an era that had hurt America could potentially end. But it hasn't, and I'd blame 25% of that on Obama but the rest on forces out to get Obama no matter what.
Ironically, Obama's true major flaw (regarding American civil liberties and due process) is something very few conservatives touch.

The problem with your analogy is that it has nothing to do with the issue at hand. The Catholic Church OWNS their insurance company. That company is part of the Church and that means the Church is being forced by law to violate their own teachings. Obama and the Democrats refuse to make an exception for their right to freely exercise their religion.
But according to you the Catholic Church exercising their religion and its teachings is akin to firing blacks for being black.

Sarah Palin is a dangerous idiot. For the film to be fair, the filmmakers would have to have the courage to show that, and say it, but they wish to please two audiences, Palin fans, and her haters, so the truth is hedged, making the reason the film was made, suspect. If you don't have the courage of your convictions, don't go there. If you do, go there, and do it without regret. This should have been the story about how a political party went for created image of a candidate, rather than substance, and how the people and media knew it/know it...openly, and how so many just don't care that they were sold a lie. Sarah Palin is the Queen(King) Without Clothes. It is about sex appeal/beauty...not about ability, but when backed into a corner, Palin and her supporters claim sexism...as their metaphorical poster-child and human shield, and few dare challenge them? This is one of the reasons why our planet is in such jeopardy...and our society falling apart, as we are so willingly...and happily, locked in a Conspiracy of Dunces.

Sarah Palin ran for Vice President. One heart beat away from President. Of the United. Fucking. States.
She was a complete idiot then and a complete idiot now. Mass media should have ripped her to shreds for even attempting to run. They were way too nice to her. And any normal person who defends her is just as bad.
If you defend Palin or lie to yourself and say she was any good, then you are a traitor to your country.
Look, argue against Obama's politics. Argue Bush's politics.
But dont fucking ever say that Sarah Palin should be anywhere near the White House or the nuclear codes, because its not fucking true, and we all fucking know its not true.
All of those damn Palin supports that still show up to see her, these racist, ignorant, retarded hicks....they are the main ones who bring this country down. They are ignorant and know it. They relish in their ignorance, playing in it like a pig does shit. Fuck them, and fuck anyone who supported Palin.

I was surprised at how sympathetic Moore's portrayal was.I guess I shouldn't have been, she's a terrific actress.I'll always a have a soft ( or hard) spot for her from Boogie Nights.
From the film at least, Palin looked like someone who was thrown into something she just wasn't ready for.
It really pissed me off though at how cynical the behind the scenes guy appear to be, the guys behind the scenes pulling all the strings.How they'd pick a running mate ( or a presidential candidate) not based on qualifications, but how well they appear to be superficially.
I guess the best compliment I can give the film is it makes me want to read the book now.Is it true the book touches on how the Clintons campaign had something to do with the whole Birther thing?

How soon people forget that we elected George Bush, not once but twice.
And both times so many liberals were certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that there was no way such a dim bulb could be elected into the highest office in the nation.
Make no mistake, once there is an official Republican nominee, the good ol boys will be 100% behind whoever will be taking on Blacky McBlack. And I'm sure we'll be treated to a whole new onslaught of "He's a Muslim terrorist and I don't care about things like facts I still think he's an illegal" rhetoric.

The Republicans, especially McCain, came out of it looking really good.
I saw the original clip on Youtube, where he pulled the microphone out of this racist ladies hand and corrected her on her rantings.
I was really happy to see them include that moment in the movie, because it sums up (to me anyway) the difference between a man like McCain and the far-right nuttery that makes up so much of the GOP squawk box.
I think it was very fair. As an adaptation of the book, it was near flawless IMO.

without ANY executive experience and had an extremely more shady past that was hidden by the media. Face it... 2008 had historically bad/weak President/VP options. And Obama has zero chance for reelection with his "newfound executive experience." Sorry can not give this movie a chance with seeing who made it. Of course the media is completely blind to this also

The answer is rather simple: everyone who actually worked with Palin remains steadfastly loyal to her and has called this movie out for the pack of lies that it is. What is MORE telling is the following set of factoids:
NOBODY in the Establishment GOP, which loathes Sarah Palin precisely because she called out their corrupt order in Alaska, hired Steve Schmidt or Nicole Wallace to work any national campaigns during this cycle. Nor will any national campaign hire them in any capacity ever again. They were disloyal, incompetent swine who threw their own principals under the bus to save their own skins.
Charlie Black has been running campaigns for years. He was a senior advisor to Reagan '84, Bush '88 and Bush '92. When Nicole Wallace came out with the story that the the McCain Staff considered dropping Palin, Black immediately called her out on the lie and said that no such conversations ever took place.
Steve Schmidt has been going after Palin ever since he was blamed for the general fecklessness of the McCain Campaign after Lehman Brothers tanked on September 15th, 2008. Up to that time, Palin had pulled the McCain Campaign AHEAD of Obama-Biden. Once Lehman Brothers collapsed and the Banking Crisis ensued, independents turned decisively against the GOP. Jesus Christ himself couldn't have saved that ticket.
Lastly, Herc, you are about as Republican as George McGovern. So stop lying about your political affiliation. Republicans don't write massive screeds in an attempt to cover their left wing tracks, nor do they write columns that read like a pack of lies from Daily Kos. This was a deeply pathetic pack of tripe using left wing movie reviewers (who normally are fighting for air up Obama's asshole anyway) as a Call To Authority.
You need to be tied, feathered, and run out of town on a rail for this deeply pathetic attempt to endorse a pathetic smear against Sarah Palin. It failed, and so did you Herc. Next time, do more research on your subject other than Kos or Palingates. This piece of yours was the definition of FAIL.

If having a law degree automatically makes someone smarter than somebody else, then Michelle Bachmann is probably the smartest person in Congress being that she's got an LL.M in tax law, and I doubt you'd say that about her.
A few good Bidinisms...'Stand up Chuck, let em see ya'...told to Chuck Graham, who's in a wheelchair.
"When the stock market crashed, Franklin D. Roosevelt got on the television and didn't just talk about the, you know, the princes of greed. He said, 'Look, here's what happened." –Joe Biden, apparently unaware that FDR wasn't president when the stock market crashed in 1929 and that only experimental TV sets were in use at that time, interview with Katie Couric, Sept. 22, 2008
"Look, John's last-minute economic plan does nothing to tackle the number-one job facing the middle class, and it happens to be, as Barack says, a three-letter word: jobs. J-O-B-S, jobs." --Joe Biden, Athens, Ohio, Oct. 15, 2008
So yeah, he's quite the Rhodes scholar.

Nor have you ever been a Movement Conservative. So you don't quite understand why a lot of us defend Palin. We're not big fans of national insolvency, which is where progressivism (see Obama, Barack H.), and it's Big Government Republican (see Bush, George W.) equivalent is driving us.
If you want to root for Team Blue in the Blue vs. Red game played by the Banksters, go right ahead. Palin's virtue is that she actually didn't do that as Governor and that she doesn't do that now.
However, one team, the one that is going to pick the guy who put his dog on the roof of his car, wants to drive towards National Bankruptcy, at 60 miles per hour. The other team, the guys in power now, are racing towards the cliff at 90 mph. They are the ones who put this deeply pathetic piece of propaganda out while all the Talkbacker Liberals voted "Yes" like so many Soviet Citizens lining up for toilet paper in the 1980's.
None of Talkbacker Lefties will ask WHY the Propaganda Ministry hated this woman so much after what she did in Alaska. She actually left her state with a AAa credit rating and the greatest surplus in its history, due to the ACES tax she passed on Big Oil in Alaska. Contrast this to the collapse in the US Government's credit rating under Obama. It would be lower than AA- (it had been AAA since the Spanish American War) but there has been political pressure on S&P and Moody's to keep the rates the same through the Election.
When the megaphones of Propaganda out of Hollywood and New York almost always say the same thing, thinking people should be suspicious. That presupposes, however, that talkbacker leftists (like Herc, for example) are thinking people, and don't simply accept the Propaganda Ministry's output whole.
I mean, most of you loved the Prequels when they came out. You just don't want to admit it now.

Another surprise is how well all the Republicans not named Sarah Palin come off in “Game Change.” Schmidt and Wallace are portrayed expending considerable talent and effort trying to make lemonade out of an overwhelmed, ungrateful lemon of a running mate.
How is that surprising? Schmidt and Wallace were the two 'unnamed sources' that part of the book was based on. And they're both way too toxic to probably ever have any position of power on another GOP campaign. Obviously the writers are going to paint them in a good light, but if you dig a little deeper, you can pin the blame for a terrible campaign on the two of them.
All you really need to know about the movie is this...the principles in making this movie have donated 200k in the last election cycle to democrats....0 to republicans. A hit jobs a hit job, if you wanna watch the movie as a piece of fiction, fine...but if you're watching this as historical fact, then I've got a bridge I'd like to sell ya.

I don't even care if that is the overriding truth, Bush is a sick, evil fuck who murdered 100,000 Iraqis to prove he was tougher than his daddy and that movie just glossed over all of that so they could show him sitting in the oval office pouting.

....maybe, u need to look up what MANDATE means?
It said that insurance companies must offer contraceptives if one is given their services, and if a Catholic Church offers insurance to an employee they can't pick and choose what they want to be covered by the insurance company.--- ur missing the entire point buddy. the Catholic Church doesnt endorse ANY type of contraceptives. they dont want it even offered because its against their teachings. how can u progressives be so obtuse lol??

Obama is trying to MANDATE what a religious institution can or cannot provide. thats infringing on their First Amendment. its pretty simple.
As for your statement about Conservatives not having an issue with contraception...you don't listen to Santorum much, do you?--- i have listened to Santorum. apparently, YOU have not. he explicitly stated that his opinions on contraceptives would not be brought into ANY of his policy decisions. u know, there is more info out there than just The Daily Kos ya know! think for urself!

...that in their efforts to become invulnerable to defeat, to maintain an always loyal base, a strictly adhered to platform, and lockstep congressional delegations, they have had to so deranged their ability to actually judge the merits or the appearance of what they're saying or doing, that they can't help these days but hand liberals and Democrats ammunition.
Palin's not your friend. She can sell herself to Republicans who like to listen to what she says, and who are quite taken with her as a reasonably lovely looking, Democrat bashing, Christian family woman who loves guns, but what about everybody else? Why should they vote for her?
That's the question they succeeded in answering the wrong way. After eight years of Bush, folks had been given a brutal object lesson of what happens when you elect somebody merely as a superficial figurehead. Nobody wanted to repeat that mistake, especially not as the system was beginning to fall down around people's ears.
Palin's objective behavior is what sunk her. I have never seen ANY candidate, not even Bush, suck air that badly.
Republicans may kid themselves that she's somehow great, but the reality is, she's like a Siren from the Odyssey: She's music to your ears, and beautiful to boot, but she'll just leave your campaign on the rocks, because her basic skillset was exploiting her charisma and drive, and leaving the details to others.

Was politically stupid for him to do so.
That said, it makes no sense to be anti-choice and yet also against birth control, with the exception of the Morning After pill.
Unless Christian Conservatives are lining up to start adopting brown babies, which ain't happening.

So by your logic, if a church buys a prison, and the prisoners are forgiven by God, they should be allowed to let them go? Or at least if they don't believe in the death penalty, that it will not be enforced?
How about if that church-run hospital decides that homosexuality is a sin, therefore no AIDS treatment will be performed unless the patient can prove they got the virus some other way? How about if they just refuse to treat homosexuals at all? Or unwed mothers?
How about if a fundamentalist sect of the Mormons buys a hospital and refuses to treat black people because they are the son of satan?
You see what a slippery slope that is?

First, I must call obvious and self-evident "Bullshit" on Hercules's supposed Republican credentials. He is no more a Republican than Hussein Obama is. Then, he fills the remainder of his so-called "review" cutting and pasting what other left-wing writers have said about the movie. What talent you show, Herc! What a shock that Hollywood sycophants don't like Sarah Palin! Real juornalists have actually read the source book, and have concluded that the movie presents a one-sided, hit-piece that selects only small portions of the book in a highly-exagerated manner. What could you get elected to, Hercules? Go back to your bedroom in your parent's basement and shut up. Hopefully, you'll become an adult one day.

So by your logic, if a church buys a prison, and the prisoners are forgiven by God, they should be allowed to let them go? Or at least if they don't believe in the death penalty, that it will not be enforced?--- lol, uhhh wow ok? cant happen with the whole separation of church and state thingy :)
How about if that church-run hospital decides that homosexuality is a sin, therefore no AIDS treatment will be performed unless the patient can prove they got the virus some other way? How about if they just refuse to treat homosexuals at all? Or unwed mothers?--- dont go to that particular hospital. no one is MANDATING that u do. freedom of choice is a great thing :)
How about if a fundamentalist sect of the Mormons buys a hospital and refuses to treat black people because they are the son of satan?--- again, dont go to that hospital. pretty simple :)
You see what a slippery slope that is?--- its no slope, fett. u are free to choose whatever hospital or health insurance u want. if u dont like Catholic hospitals, dont go :)
btw- none of what u posted has anything to do with the FACT that Obama is mandating a religious institution to go against its teachings.

In 3 1/2 the years since she was introduced to the national spotlight, she has never given a serious or detailed policy speech on any issue be it foreign, energy, debt, the bail outs, etc.
She's been willing to give paid stump speeches for groups that want her to give essentially the same speech she did at the 08 convention.
But a serious speech about anything? Nope. Fox news will trot her out for her opinions on a hot button topic but otherwise even Fox has adopted a "Don't call us, we'll call you" attitude. Essentially she's the high jock/head cheerleader who's been unable to get past those glory days while the rest of us have moved on with our lives.